Federer to face Djokovic in Wimbledon final

Top seed Novak Djokovic has tackled innocence and now faces experience at Wimbledon after beating young pretender Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the final against seven-times champion Roger Federer.

The Serb was in self-critical mood after he allowed Dimitrov, playing his first grand slam semi-final, to push him to four tense sets on Centre Court.

It was the third time during the tournament that Djokovic, who came through 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) 7-6(7) today, had been taken to four sets.

Federer reached a ninth Wimbledon final after emerging unscathed from the crosshairs of the bullet-serving Milos Raonic, winning 6-4 6-4 6-4 with a masterly display of the grasscourt arts.

The 32-year-old Swiss played most of the match at walking pace and finished off his opponent in one hour 41 minutes, clenching his fist in a restrained celebration when Raonic hit a backhand return wide on match point.

The 32-year-old Federer has an 18-16 advantage in matches against Djokovic and has beaten the Serb twice in the past five months. Their only meeting at Wimbledon, in the 2012 semi-finals, also went the way of the Swiss maestro.

But Djokovic does have the 2011 Wimbledon title under his belt, plus five other grand slam triumphs.